Top 10 Moments of 2016 - Numbers 8 & 7

No. 8 - Middle School Madness At Monroe-Woodbury

It wouldn't be a Top 10 Moments list without a mention of the distance runners from Fayetteville-Manlius.  They are the only entity/athlete to make the list all five years of publication, and gave plenty of moments in 2015-16.  But how to pick one singular moment that topped them all?  Was it their ninth National Title, where they would have won without even using their Top 2 finishers?  How about their front runner, Kaitlyn Neal, getting hit by a car in the week leading up to Sectionals, and then coming back to go #3 All-Time at Bowdoin?  Or maybe it was the dismantling of one of the stronger Manhattan fields in recent memory?

In truth, any and all of these could be seen as a worthy addition to the list.  But it was the unexpected performance by a lowly middle-schooler, at arguably the hardest state meet course ever run, that shocked the world and led to an impressive winning margin.  Claire Walters, little sister to teammates Joe and Rebecca, arrived at the voluntary summer running program with very little formal training.  The diminutive runner found success in the program, so much so that she became one of the less than a handful of middle school runners ever brought up to varsity at the reigning National Powerhouse program.  The move would prove game changing.

In the leadup to States, Walters was routinely running well, placing 2nd-3rd in the team lineup.  But the story went unheralded, as then-frontrunner Kaitlyn Neal was attacking course records at every major invitational.  And yet, as Manlius is wont to do, the scoring seven didn't rely on just one athlete excelling.  The team matured together, each making strides forward, producing the much needed interchangeability.  So when something happens, say a car accident, the next girl in line is ready to step up.

It still was no indicator for what would happen on the hills of Monroe-Woodbury.  Neal was down, but not out, still winning the Sectional Title, and a favorite for the State Title.  Walters had been third in the section, where most of her competition came from within her own team.  At States, Walters found herself leading a chase pack.  The top two seeded athletes, Neal and Kelsey Chmiel of Saratoga took out fast in front.  Walters had been projected as high as 8th in some previews, but it didn't slow her down.  As the top pair sped through the early stages of the race, it was the back hills where the small in stature Walters would attack.  Also sensing the move was Jessica Lawson, a multiple time state champ on and off the track.  Lawson had been labeled as the overall favorite in the race, and for good reason.  She had broken Molly Huddle's course record the week before, on what would hold the State Meet in 2016.  The chase was on.

Walters pushed through the hills, chasing down Chmiel.  The standout freshman had dropped Neal, and with her superior track speed, had nothing blocking her first XC state Title.  Behind Walters was Lawson, known for her unparalleled finishing kick, only aided by the topography of the final mile on the course.  Walters came out of the backhills in second, passing Chmiel who taken a toll from the early pace.  Lawson began to move as well, dropping Abbey Wheeler who she had been paired with through most of the early part of the race.  Walters threw in a constant pace, while Lawson closed, so much so that with a final 100m to go, Lawson was closing fast.  Down to the wire, the gap was closing meter by meter.  Walters gave one final push to hold off the move, and to capture her first state title, the first time an 8th grader had won since Saratoga's Erin Davis in 1992.  The upset of the field ranks as our 8th Top Moment of 2016

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